"I'm heading to bed now. Good night."

Seungkwan went up to his room solemnly. It had been a few weeks since he last spoke to Vernon, the Lost Boys, or their recent addition, Chan/Dino, who was now avoiding Jeonghan at school. Their table at lunch had become much less lighthearted, and as Jeonghan's schedule began to pick up, Seungkwan started to find himself alone now more than ever.

To make it worse, he was back to the way he was before. In the darkness of his room, with only the moonlight glimmering upon the opposite wall, just to the left of his bed, Seungkwan found himself in a metaphor for his most recent experiences. Here, shadowy figures flocked around him, and while there was a light ahead of him, it was just out of reach--not because he could not figure out how to reach it, but because he did not have any desire to do so.

He felt a fragment of himself stay behind in that bonfire at the abandoned lot, burning diligently with as much emotion as he had captured in his entire life. He felt silly for the dramatics of it all, but that feeling of happiness, of warmth, would never be forgotten, though he would never feel it again.

He had, however, forgotten that dreams tend to become real at night.

"My shadow wanted to stop here."

Seungkwan gawked at the figure standing at the windowsill. He didn't think it was odd that Hansol Vernon Chwe should show himself only when Seungkwan would want him to do so the most. Shedding his covers, he rose from his bed, slowly walking toward the window, his face blank as ever before. Even in the darkness, however, he could see the look of curiosity before him slowly morphing into that impactful smile, and Seungkwan felt himself mimicking its shape on his own face, though it was an honest urge to illustrate how he felt rather than another facade.

"Did you want to stop here, too?"

"Yes," Vernon calmly answered, but with a quietude present in his voice that almost hinted at hesitancy. He slowly dropped down to sit in the sill, now eye-level with Boo Seungkwan. "I wanted to ask you something."

"I thought you were the one with all the answers."

"I am," Vernon retorted without skipping a beat, eliciting a playful push from the boy he was visiting. "But I want to know why you want to stay here? You could be a star in the sky."

There was a short pause.

"With me."

"You know I can't."

"But why not? We could live forever. Together."

Seungkwan smiled wistfully. "Is it really living if you know what happens at the end, though?"

Vernon jumped, and at first Seungkwan wasn't entirely certain why. It was then that he saw it--a warm pink light illuminating the face of the boy sitting in front of him. Looking down at his own chest, he realized it was his light.

His spark.

"See?" Hansol chuckled. "It's so unpredictable. You never know when it's going to light up."

"..I think I might have figured it out."

"Really??"

"Mhmm. If you'd like, I can share it with you.. but you have to trust me."

"Trust you.." Vernon's voice trailed off as his eyes trailed down to Seungkwan's lips, watching him move closer.






~~~
~~~


"What does it say, Dino? It's been awhile since I've had to read anything."

Chan cleared his throat before reciting the words before the two teenagers. "It says, 'Boo Seung Kwan, 1998 - 2062, A voice that shined like a star'.."

“So he made it happen.” Vernon sighed, smiling and shaking his head. Crouching down, he laid the flowers at the grassy bed before him. He looked over the field of tombstones ahead of them both, remaining silent for some time in contemplation.

"So," Chan started, "do you really plan on giving it up?"

Turning to Chan, Vernon smiled. "I won't be giving it up. You're more than capable of taking on my mantle. Besides, I didn't have any regrets living forever until I found someone I wanted to live the rest of my life with. I finally understand that emptiness he kept talking about when he was younger. And now that he's gone, it feel as though I have nothing left to live for."

"To die will be an awfully big adventure."

Vernon smiled, placing his hand over his chest.

"To live will be an awfully big adventure."